The idea of discipline could produce resistance in you, but I promise that healthy discipline can feel great. Practicing healthy discipline in one area of your life will cause other areas to become more orderly too. Why? Because everything is connected, and one change can have a real ripple effect. When your life is more orderly it can also be easier to manifest. If you’ve been overwhelmed lately or are going through a challenging time and want to feel more grounded, try even one of these healthy discipline steps and see what else begins to shift.
1. Set short-term and long-term financial goals.
One goal should be immediate and easy to execute, like making a monthly budget to help control excess spending. Another could be long term, like saving for a down payment on a property or thinking up a side hustle to pay off debt more quickly.
2. Put mindful limits on things like alcohol, caffeine, and sugar.
Indulging in these substances more mindfully can have a significantly positive effect on your physical and emotional health. Instead of cutting out sugar altogether, for example, you might moderate your intake of sugar. This will be more easy to sustain as a lifestyle choice long term.Article continues below
3. Keep your living space tidy.
Finish the dishes in the sink and straighten the throw pillows on the couch before you go to sleep at night. Make your bed in the morning (just like you might have been forced to do as a kid). This orderly outer environment will help keep your mind quiet and calm.
4. Get outside.
How many times did your parents or guardians say, “Go play outside!” They weren’t just trying to get you out of their hair; they also knew being in nature was good for you. Sit outside on a bench during your lunch break or take a walk around your neighborhood in the evening.
5. Create boundaries around binge-watching and video games.
I love getting lost in a good story, which I consider a healthy escape. But have you been binge-watching a lot or playing video games lately just to numb out? Do you feel a little guilty or depressed afterward? Switch it up with a nonfiction book, like my latest Angel Intuition, that gets you back into thinking about your life and how to improve and enjoy it more.
6. Connect with others.
Staying connected to other people is just as important as other daily habits you do instinctively, like brushing your teeth or washing your face. Whether it’s chatting to your barista while they make your drink or catching up with a co-worker in the hallway, make human interaction a priority. Put it on your calendar to get together with new friends and catch up with old ones and loved ones who live far away on the phone.
7. Take a healthy risk.
Challenge yourself to take healthy risks on a regular basis, like putting your name in the hat for a promotion at work, taking a workshop on how to write that novel you’ve been dreaming about for years, or asking someone you find inspiring out for lunch.
8. Practice patience.
Really want that new sundress for summer you saw in the store window? Make yourself patiently wait for a day or two. Something cuter, more affordable, or more sustainable might hit your radar, or you might go back for that dress after getting a chance to exercise your patience muscle.
9. Work toward mutual honor and respect in relationships.
Observe the way you speak to people, and try to treat them with the dignity and kindness that all humans deserve. Watch how the manner in which you treat others—whether they are people you know in a casual or intimate way—can positively change how they treat you.
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